The UCI World Championship Road Race is on the horizon, and Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank will have four riders representing their countries in the 157.7km road race on Saturday, September 25 in Flanders, Belgium.
Kristen Faulkner joins U.S. national elite road champion Lauren Stephens in wearing the red, white, and blue for the United States. Faulkner, who is making her first appearance at the world championships, has enjoyed a breakout year with the team, and has quickly risen amongst the ranks to become a rider to watch within the elite peloton. Among her numerous results this season, the Alaska native recently finished third at GP Plouay and Ladies Tour of Norway, and continues to impress in just her second year racing with the pro peloton.
“I am really excited to race alongside the best American women and represent the USA for the first time on a bike. The Flanders course will be challenging and I think that plays to our strengths as riders,” Faulkner said.
After winning the U.S. national road race, Stephens tried something different this summer and added gravel racing to her calendar. Using the long distances of gravel competition to train for the demands of European road racing, the Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank veteran won Gravel Worlds in August and UNBOUND Gravel in June before returning to the road to race the Joe Martin Stage Race in late August.
“I’m looking forward to representing the USA in Belgium this year at the road world championships alongside my teammate, Kristen,” Stephens said. “This will be my first time having one of my teammates representing the USA with me.”
Along with Faulkner and Stephens, Eri Yonamine will represent the Land of the Rising Sun once more this year, after a tremendous performance at the Tokyo Olympics in July. The five-time Japanese road champion finished 21th in the attritional road race, a testament to her consistency and drive – on and off the bike.
How to watch
The UCI World Championships will be available to watch in the USA and Canada on FloBikes.com. European and U.K. audiences can view the race on GCN / Eurosport.